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Sunday, November 29, 2009

Well, it may not be proof of life but it is proof of knitting. I finally got around to blocking a few of my finished items but the sun did not cooperate today so the pictures are flash and house lighting instead of nature light.

When I downloaded the pictures I realized I still had some pics from work in the camera so I thought you might like to see one of the old printers my team uses to create black & white booklets, brochures, etc.

The left side where the guy is standing is the paper trays along with 3 more trays just to the right of the "bump". This printer can hold 9 different types of paper. Different size, color, weight, tabs, etc. So if you have a book that has a cover, tabs, color paper inserts, etc. - this guy will print is all at once and spit it out complete.The bump is the printer.To the right of the extra paper trays is stapler. It staples and loads the finished copies in the window area.Next, is a stacker. When you do all those tabs, chapters, colored inserts, etc. and its done - it ends up in the stacker waiting to be taken out.Finally, the last big unit is the booklet maker. It takes finished copies staples the whole thing together, folds it and then trims off the extra edge you get when you fold it.

So - There you have it. An older but still very functional printer. Next time you get a booklet that was printed with a colored cover and the rest black & white it may have been printed on a machine like this one.

Knitting

A while back I finished a shawl out of Mini Mochi. It's simple and lets the yarn do its own thing. The lace edge is Cascade Hertiage Sock because I felt the lace pattern would have been lost with Mini Mochi. The full size picture is closer to the actual colors. The pattern is Eliina shawl. More info is on my Ravelry site.

I also finally blocked the Alita afghan. This was made from a lace doily pattern with Woolease yarn. My hope was to make an afghan that was a bit special for my couch when company goes because I like to keep the house cool. It needs to be kept away from the couch until then so it remains fairly cat hair free.

And - yes - I block with the iron. Lots of steam, a bit of heat and a light hand. So far I have yet to kill the yarn and things come out looking great.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

1. As a dedication for those who love blogging and love to encourage friendships through blogging.

2. To seek the reasons why we all love blogging.

3. Put the award in one post as soon as you receive it.

4. Don’t forget to mention the person who gives you the award.

5. Answer the award’s question by writing the reason why you love blogging.

6. Tag and distribute the award to as many people as you like.

7. Don’t forget to notify the award receivers and put their links in your post.

Toni and I have similar things going on as far as cats who like to sew with you and sleep with you and be with you every second of the day. Then of course there's the knitting. After some comments we ended up sharing bits of our local area - I sent her Wild Rice from Minnesota and she sent me some wonderful Huckleberry products from Idaho. Our friendship pretty much explains why I enjoy blogging - I've met some pretty amazing people on the net. Some I've met in person others I may never meet other than through the blogs but we share friendships of sorts that I term as net-friends.

My one problem with blogging is I can't answer people directly through blogger because it hides email as unknown. Many people have commented on my blog that I'd love to reach out to and be more friendly but blogger just won't let me. But for now - I'll enjoy the friendship I get anyway I can get them!

I'm not going to tag anyone for this but I'd love to here from those that read the blog and suffer through the endless Chief and Bert pictures. Maybe one of these days I'll even get the afghan and 2 shawls blocked so I can post pictures! Then of course there's the patterns I've been writing up, I really should finish them. Some day........

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

I've been limping around for the past year or so waiting until my heel got crummy enough to do something about it. 6-7 years ago I had 3 spurs removed from my left heel and the past couple years my right heel has been heading the same way. Today the doctor confirmed it. Time for surgery. Not only do I have major heel spurs going on I also have what is the equivalent of a bunion on my small toe side and a hammer toe starting on my second toe. The decision is to do everything at once so there's one recovery time. So just after the first of the year I'll be getting 3-4 weeks of sitting around with nothing to do but knit and then about 3 weeks after that with an air cast. Able to go to work but after work - come home and sit around and knit. It's gonna be tough but I'll try to survive all the extra knitting time this winter!

Oh - I made the doctor promise I'd be good to go by April so I can enjoy Yarnover and all my net friends that will be coming here. I must be good by then!

Friday, November 6, 2009

Every once in a while you look at your world and decide some changes need to be made. You have an old car that costs more to fix than its worth. You have piles of things on the table so it can't be used. You're in a loveless marriage and need to get out. My world is not so dramatic.

My big thing I need to change is my wardrobe. I think its time to make a new night gown. This one is over 15 years old and looks everyday of it. Mom is probably rolling over in her grave seeing me wearing something this raggy!I may not have made a new nightgown lately but I have made progress on some knitting. I found a Lace Edge Hat pattern I liked and made it out of Malabrigo. It's yummy and wonderful. After I made the hat I decided to come up with some gauntlets that would match. First one is done and of course I didn't take any notes on my increases and such so I've been going a little slower making the second one. Turns out I have enough Malabrigo to make a small scarf also. Once I get the scarf finished I'll write these up and share them with you all. I'll also hunt up the hat pattern source so you can make a complete set.

While I've been knitting the Boys have been doing what they do best - sleep.

Bert likes to sleep on top of the TV cabinet. Here's his favorite pose. I know its because the the heat that comes from the cable box in the cabinet but its still pretty funny.

Even when he hears something he manages to check it out without losing "The Pose".

Once he's sure everything is safe and there's no real live person coming into our cave he relaxes and settles down to some serious sleeping again.

Don't ya just love the hind foot action!

Meanwhile, Chief sleeps where Chief sleeps best - on the recliner between my legs.

The black thing on the bottom of the picture is my laptop. I can handle Chief on the right arm of the chair, Bert on the left arm, the lap top of (of course) my lap and knitting in front of the computer. What else do you need!

Sunday, November 1, 2009

I really hate the phone calls that begin - "Hello, this is ..... I'm your Dad's nurse". They always end with me going to his facility because of a problem or going to the emergency room because it was a bigger problem. Saturday was a bigger problem. Around noon I got a call that Dad had a seizure for about a minute but was ok now and they wanted me to know. By 12:30 I was heading to the ER because his doctor thought it best to be checked out and get a CT scan to see what caused it.

He's never had a seizure before that we know of and in the end everything turned out ok but, ER trips are not fun and you just never know. I'm unfortunately getting a bit too good at this routine. I grab a book, my knitting (something mindless), and a can of pop on the way out the door because ER trips are always 4 hours or more. This one was only 3 1/2 hours so I guess I was lucky.

CT scan showed no change from one about 1 1/2 years ago and the ER doctor is similar thinking to me - don't add a ton of meds on older people unless it's needed. So- our orders are for the nurses at Dad's place to watch him and the visiting doctor will check him out again Wednesday on regular visit day. If seizures happened again, then we'll talk drugs.

The knitting I worked on? I was smart- I brought some blue Malabrigo with me so I'd have something soft and cuddly to work on. I worked on a hat from a pattern I found on line - Lace-Edged Women's Hat. Unfortunately I saved it on my computer and don't know the website. I'm guessing it's on Ravelry if anyone wants to do a search. There's a one inch lace edge instead of a rib and the rest plain knit. I decided a pair of mittens or fingerless gloves would look great with it so I started a pair using the lace edge and the rest will be plain knnit to match the hat. I haven't gotten too far on the gloves yet but I'll post pictures when there's something to see. In the meantime, let's hope today is less scary than yesterday!

About Jill

I'm owned by 2 cats, Chief and Bert. They allow me to spend as much time as I want knitting, quilting, and hanging out on the computer as long as I keep part of my lap free for them.
I used to own a shop where we helped people with their fiber arts needs. We had classes and supplies for knitting, machine knitting, quilting, and other sewing.
Right now I'm in corporate America but finding my way back to my passion. This blog is my journey back to knitting and quilting with plenty of cat stories thrown in.
I'm on Ravelry as JillsKnit. This has been my Internet name for over 10 years. It came from shortening the name of my former shop - Jill's All Sew Knit.